THE JURY in the case of a marathon running former soldier accused of pocketing more than £20,000 he raised for charity have been sent home for the night.

Mike Buss is said to have plundered cash which was raised from a series of endurance running events he arranged for the forces' charity, Help For Heroes.

But the 41-year-old, who served in the Royal Green Jackets, insists he never acted dishonestly and only kept money he had been given as sponsorship.

He said many of the events he did, often on treadmills in shopping centres, were 'publicity stunts' which raised little or nothing for charity.

And at other events, as well as collecting for Help For Heroes he said he also had his own, similar looking, tins for people to make donations to him.

That explained why he paid lots of loose change into the bank, he said, and anything raised for charity went into their accounts rather than his.

The jury heard he had served five years and 77 days in the Army before being medically discharged in 1997, having done nearly a year in the TA before that.

It is alleged between October 2009 and September 2011 almost £40,000 went into his bank account which could not be accounted for.

Of that it is claimed less than £18,000 went to charity while prosecutors said the remaining £21,809 was used by him as his own cash.

Buss insisted he had never done anything wrong and only held on to money raised as sponsorship for his bid to become an ultra athlete.

He said he also earned small amounts as a personal trainer, giving bespoke nutritional advice, and selling promotional items given to him such as energy drinks.

Buss, of Barra Close, Highworth, near Swindon, denies theft.